Tag: Gospel

19 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

A treasure is something that is highly valued. Earthly treasures are quantified in possessions such as gold, houses and these expire with time. Heavenly treasures on the other hand are not limited by TIME. However, just like any other treasure, you have to search for heavenly treasures. Yeah, if you have watched any pirate movie, the general theme is centered on crossing vast oceans and going around the world in search of treasure. You have to get knowledge, sacrifice and work hard to get to what you desire.

One misconception we must break is that heavenly treasures will only be obtained when we get to heaven. Jesus sacrifice on the cross gave us access to the heavenly realm and we can pull what we access there and pull it to the earthly realm. We can make them to be a part of who we are. They can be principles or values that revolutionize how we live in the world of men. Whenever we receive such treasures, we are meant to grow them. Yes, cultivate the godly treasures within you by experience and the Word of God then bring them to the surface by prayer and obedience.

Cultivate the godly treasures within you by experience and the Word of God then bring them to the surface by prayer and obedience

Proverbs 2:3-5 [NIV]

3 indeed, if you call out for insight

and cry aloud for understanding,

4 and if you look for it as for silver

and search for it as for hidden treasure,

5 then you will understand the fear of the Lord

and find the knowledge of God.

Most of what God has endowed us with has to be searched for. The problem comes about when you don’t know what is yours. If you don’t know something exists, you will never be bothered by it. If you don’t know that something belongs to you, you will never search for it. Your search can only start when you realize that you have lost something or when you realize that something is yours and belongs in your hands. You will definitely labor to make sure it gets back to you.

Believers living a Christian life have the hope of the return, the resurrection out from among the dead, and eternal rewards to motivate them and provide focus for their endeavors. Hebrews 11:6 [NIV] says “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” Our love for God and desire to please our Lord encourages us to labor for him out of love and to store our treasure in heaven, rather than to build temporal fortunes. I came across Paul Ellis teaching while researching for this blog and what he had to say about heavenly treasures blew me away.

Genesis 15:1 [NIV]

After this, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision:

“Do not be afraid, Abram.

I am your shield,

your very great reward.”

Whatever the treasures of heaven may be, they are nothing in comparison with Jesus, who is the Reward for those who seek him. There is a difference between inheritance and heavenly treasures. Our inheritance comes to us through grace alone; when we accept the Lord Jesus as our savior and are adopted as sons into God’s family, while heavenly treasures can be worked for and accumulated. Now there is a totally different way that we can view what ‘heavenly treasures’ are. What are eternal rewards? What is our heavenly treasure? The answer may surprise you, but it is people.

Children are a heritage from the Lord, offspring a reward from him. (Ps 127:3)

This Psalm is not just talking about biological children. God has bigger plans for you and they involve spiritual children. Lots of them. Dozens. Hundreds. Thousands. Millions. Don’t limit God. Just as Abraham was called to be the father of many nations, so are you. Jesus said those who followed him would be fishers of men. What is a fisherman’s reward? It’s fish, or people in this case. What is the reward of the one who sows and waters the good seed? It’s a harvest of people. What is treasure that never wears out and cannot be stolen? It’s people. In Matthew chapter 5, Jesus introduces God as our heavenly Father. In Matthew chapter 6, Jesus says he is a Father who rewards us. And what is a father’s reward? It is children.

When Jesus exhorts us to store up treasures in heaven, he is not saying, “Store up me.” How would we do that? He’s saying, “Be fruitful and multiply so that when this moth-eaten, money-grubbing world passes away, you will have treasures in heaven—spiritual children, and grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.” God isn’t your average Father with average dreams. His desire is to grow the world’s largest family and He treats people like treasure.

Deuteronomy 7:6 [NIV] “For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession.”

Don’t take people for granted. One of the things that distinguishes a son from a servant in the house is the son having the same desires of the father. If God values people, as a son of God, you also have to value people. You have to expose them to the gospel and pull them into this large beautiful family.

You are your father’s treasure.

Watch the video of the week below 🙂

All scripture references are from the New International Version (NIV) unless otherwise stated. Drop your comments and thoughts on the above post in the box below. Like and share the post if you have been blessed. See you on the next one.

Pretty strange to publish blog posts on two consecutive days…huh? Well, I figured this was too long a post for social media and I wanted to share as soon as I could. My energy tonight has been at crazy extremes and my spirit is just too excited for the new beginnings rising out of this year.

So yesterday (1/8/2017) the Holy Spirit tagged at my heart to take a walk back to town from Upper Hill, just a silent walk, no earphones blazing cool tunes which I rarely move without. Well, I thought the walk was just because it did not make a big difference between walking and hitching a bus ride since there was so much traffic at that late evening hour and I would literally get to town at the same time while walking as those KBS buses. However, by the time I got to the streets of Nairobi,, the reason was quite clear and I could focus on the seed that He planted in me. Sometimes the Holy Spirit just longs for time alone with you, avail yourself to Him.

With every new year, we tend to go with the flow of the new year’s excitement, then just hold onto hope that the year will be better than the last one. You gotta change how you do things to see a different result. Get in line and make 2018 instead of waiting for the year to be favourable to you; gaining new knowledge with every beginning, with every new dawn. Then with the knowledge gained, create; bring to reality what others cannot grasp with their mere thoughts.

Photo credits: Grey 116

I am a silent person by nature. That is just part of my character built over many years. I listen for long periods of time before I give my say and most times if the conversation is not directed at me I might not utter a word. Silence keeps one from trouble is a good proverb ? Am not really an introvert but an ambivert. I tend to talk more when the conversation is natural and I love extroverts who complement my character though if you keep talking too much and repeating the same point over and over yet I understood it two minutes ago, I will get bored and run away from you ??? I am sorry if I you are on my unconscious list of MARK AND AVOID but that is just me, you have somebody else out there for you ?. and I do enjoy events where I can socialize and have fun with friends.

So all that explanation on silence was just to bring you to the reason for the behind this post. Someone one year back, while in a group setting mentioned that I possess a lot of lessons to share with people but I do not. It got me thinking I should share more…and now ta..da the season is here. It is amazing how God can work on you consistently until you grow to where He desires you to be. This was just a reminder of what had began one year ago.

So, this year I plan to learn something new everyday to empower my creative being. Some lessons will definitely be flashbacks to secrets and principles I previously overlooked. I will be sharing across social media (Follow me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @phoenixthadj) some of the lessons that I have learnt in the past as well as those that I will learn over 2018 using the hashtag #KnowledgeForCreation. I do not promise to share daily, some lessons may just be for my own personal growth.

Am grateful for my spiritual father Prophete Joel Lutuka. He has worked to achieve such great spiritual levels and has become an amazing example of how much one can enjoy life in Christ. I have indeed learned a lot from him directly or indirectly. My sharing will be based on what the Holy Spirit drops in me during this season of grace. Aye, you are most welcome to engage me. Happy learning!